Toronto street parking gets ugly in wake of snowstorm

The trouble with plowing the streets (now there's an opening) is that the snow tends to get pushed into giant drifts that obstruct the curbside lane. Drivers trying to find a spot to park then have to squeeze into small gaps, often further from the sidewalk than normal, and flirt with causing an obstruction to a passing streetcar.

This weekend was a particularly bad example. The rail was blocked on practically every major route - Dundas, King, Queen, Carlton - sometimes all at the same time. In some cases cars were towed, other times vigilante riders took matters into their own hands and shifted the scofflaws manually. In total, the TTC calculates its streetcars were delayed a total of 45 hours from Friday to Sunday.

To combat this, the city could have declared an official snow emergency and activated bylaws that prohibit all parking and stopping on major transit routes. There aren't any set rules on what constitutes such an emergency, only that a "significant" amount of snow must fall within an eight-hour period. Regardless, nothing happened, but the problems of this weekend speak to a larger issue when it comes to keeping transit moving.

As I wrote a few weeks back, Toronto has already tried banning street parking and much of the core is still off limits during rush hour. Expanding restrictions beyond has been something of a contentious issue but it might make sense to tweak the existing rules so transit doesn't grind to a halt in the face of wonky parking.

In Toronto, it would be easy to frame any discussion on the removal or restriction of parking spaces as another salvo in the "war on the car," but perhaps we should take a step back, look at the numbers, and see what the city can really do to ensure transit moves smoothly all year round.

As the problem repeated itself over the weekend, Toronto police acted quicker to tow cars that were blocking the rail. Having a vehicle impounded typically costs between $150 and $230, though it seems to vary depending on which company carries out the work.

Officially there were 102 stoppages between Friday and Sunday caused by autos parking afoul of the rail, to use the official term. According to the TTC's Brad Ross, the incidents delayed streetcars by an average of 25 minutes.

Should tow trucks be assigned to streetcar routes in the immediate aftermath of a storm or is educating drivers about parking next to windrows the answer? Should there be bigger fines for drivers that block streetcars? Add your thoughts below.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Discussion

89 Comments

Toronto does such a bad job of removing snow - let's look to Montreal as to how to do things right. Siren sounds, people have 15 minutes to move their parked cars, trucks and graders come in, snow's removed. Done. Instead here we endure months of packed icy snow or inches of slush in parking areas. Phooey.

Another great reason to ditch streetcars in favour of electric buses. They run on the same wires without the need to continually replace tracks. And guess what, they can steer around obstructions! Works great in Vancouver.

I think that the TTC should be allowed to ram and damage the offenders cars since the car driver has knowingly parked in the path of a 30 Ton street car, they should take responsibility for the damages and a fine on top of it all.

We are working on creating streetcar plows that will plow through cars parked by morons that block our 1800s style public transit. However, to do so we will have ton increase our transit fare from $3.00 to $300.00, and start charging fares for transfers. Thank you for your patience.

Totally agree. A lot of these streetcar drivers were just shy. There were 6 streetcars backed up at gerrard and broadview because of a car that would have had its rearview tapped at the very most. like just go for it.

What about all the idiots that left their cars parked on the street during the snowstorm? A bunch of side streets near me are now one lane because people left their cars parked on the street and they got plowed in. People just need to be educated on basic winter driving behaviour, they seem to have serious issues with it.

During and after a snowstorm like this one they should just ban all street parking.

like a user above mentioned. follow what montreal does. and not just for the sake of street cars. they have trucks that suck in all the snow and it goes into a dump truck right behind it. no more plughing snow to the side of the road. make it dissapear!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE6N7CDV-9s 4:50 mark

I always wondered about those "No Parking/Snow Route" signs... Why didn't the city implement that. I was on some side streets around Summerhill yesterday and I am very glad no one came in the other direction otherwise I am not sure what we would have done!

The thing about getting people off the side street at night is where do they move the car to? Most don't have driveway parking/etc. There has to be some kind of system in place where cars can be moved and roads plowed. In other cities there is no on street parking allowed at all from 2am to 6am in the winter season but that wouldn't fly for residential streets in Toronto... Maybe could work for paid street parking though.

To a couple people who are complaining about people leaving their cars parked on the side of the road during a snowstorm, get some perspective. Where are they supposed to move their car? This city was not at all designed for winter and is terribly managed. The actual blame needs to be put on those who run the city and have no idea how to deal with cars, transit, and snow removal.

I think this particular snowfall warranted declaring the "emergency" and utilizing extra tow trucks to remove the cars more quickly. I was monitoring the "TTCing" account on Twitter on the weekend - cars blocking streetcars was a major issue.

Get rid of the parking on routes that have streetcars. Numerous cities have no problems running streetcar lines... but they also don't have weird car-centric policies preventing the vehicle from looking like a second class mode of transportation for a freaking nanosecond.

Think about the next time you're stuck on Queen behind a streetcar. Wouldn't it be awesome to, you know, get around it on your own lane?

I'm actually surprised to hear that snowplows caused this much drama. I've only seen 3 all winter living in the Little Italy area, and 2 of them came after the snow stopped. Still haven't seen (or seen evidence of) a sidewalk plow. I suppose this is what counts as "Gravy"

Exactly. My street is one of many where residents have street parking permits because their houses have no driveways. Where are their cars supposed to go? Stored on their side beside the garbage cans until the snow is gone?

Maybe what we need are agreements in place where residents like these can park for free in city-owned lots when a snow emergency is declared. But that sounds like wishful thinking...

I guess you anti-streetcar morons were too busy being snarky to remember that the car is also a technology that was invented in the 1800s? I suppose we should get rid of all streetcars/cars and travel on Segways?

There is really a simple solution... snow or no snow, cars shouldn't be allowed to park on any single direction, two-lane, shared streetcar routes. Even during the summer months, a parked car on one of these routes wreaks all kinds of havoc for traffic when a streetcar stops to pick up riders.

This city is badly run. Poor snow removal is a fact here, not an exception. Allowing street parking along streetcar routes is a terrible idea, but the TTC itself doesn't care about picking up passengers, just making route times. Observe driver behaviour; they go out of their way to race their routes to avoid picking up people. If they were paid by number of passengers they took, or just actually cared about people, it might be different, but the culture is awful. Marginalizing a main transport system by allowing cars to park on routes shows how much the city cares about its people too. Toronto's transport infrastructure is a total embarassment.

That photo is on Roncesvalles ave where the driver has parked at the start of the "bump out" that is used passengers to get on the streetcar & cyclists riding along the street. This is a different issue that happens all the time by idiot drivers.

Why is it so difficult to see that if you park in a streetcar path you should be towed? I don't care if there was snow in the way, clearly you parked there after it fell and did a crap job of it. The lead picture isn't even from this weekend. I've also never understood the argument for buses. I am assuming streetcars are more economical and carry more people if the city still uses them. I don't buy the argument that they are kept for historic reasons, pretty sure there are no tourists coming to Toronto to see the streetcar nor residents who would complain if they left (assuming buses were actually cheaper and worked better).

Even the streets without on-street parking were terribly plowed. How many right lanes and right-turn lanes are fully accessible? I'm disappointed at how many snowbanks are still encroaching on high-traffic arteries; they had all weekend to clean it up!

Well if you have ever been to Montreal and looked at their parking signs you will see why the streets are clear of snow in the winter. There is no parking on the street at specific times of the week to allow for snow removal, sure it's a pain but you deal with it. It's not that hard.

For those advocating for the electric bus over the streetcar, don't forget that many bus routes were impacted as buses couldn't make it up Toronto's many hills. There are just as many issues with that alternative.

I took the photo and was surprised that thie 2-year-old photo was used instead of one I took on Saturday of passengers and a TTC driver taking matters into their own hands and moving a car out of the way - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jer1961/8461769079/in/photostream - about 50 feet south of the photo here. Just have to say that outside of incidents like the one above and a few others before the street was completed, there have been very few incidents of blocked streetcars on Roncesvalles. Until the snow. Have Torontonians forgotten how to deal with Winter?

Honestly I'd support banning parking on streets with streetcars altogether, especially in the downtown core. It'd ease traffic a little bit because it'd be easier for cars to pass the slower-moving streetcars, and it'd maybe teach people to start using transit and leave their cars in the suburbs.

Sure, they are at the end of the lake and get slightly more snow than Toronto if the conditions are right... But you can't tell me Hamilton gets so much more snow than Toronto that they have no choice but to use dumptrucks to haul the snow away.

The TTC was pure chaos this weekend thanks to the storm and the parked cars. I had my scanner on and was listening to transit control Saturday and Sunday... At least every 5-10 mins there would be a radio call declaring streetcars are stuck due to parked cars.

Is it so darn difficult to use brains during a snowstorm? Or any day of the year for that matter?

Declare a transit snow emergency, and then employ a faster, more efficient towing procedure (maybe that 15-minute rule whichsomeone recommended). A streetcar full of 40+ passengers needs to take precedence over a single car parked on King, Queen, or Dundas streets.

The key to this issue is not to let Rob Ford-like neanderthals turn this into an argument to get rid of streetcars. Talk about the tail wagging the dog. But whining about subways is so much easier than, say, being an effective mayor and managing the complicated transit asset that you actually have, rather than the fantasy one that exists in your tiny brain.

Those of us who are forced to use wheel chairs can not even make it out because of lazy, arrogant, ignorant masses that forget that we are people too.

I have every right to use the sidewalk with everyone else. However in this city I am forced to contend with the likes of those with stuck up noses who bump and crash into me because they are walking. Afterwords blame me for taking up space they wanted to occupy.

By law you are required to as an owner of property remove and clear snow from the sidewalks in front of your house.
But do any of you actually do this? NO!

Screw you all with your complaints of TTC being slow, try living 1 day in my wheel chair. Live one day as I do then try to complain after the fact. You are walking but have any of you ever tried to help me in any way? NEVER! Not one person in 30 years has helped me on queen street. Then you get the city to build sidewalks improper and put up tree's and other idiotic trash that makes my life even worse because I have to navigate around it and the rest of you assholes.

Yes I drive a car because I have no other method of getting myself from A to B. Can't navigate on the sidewalks full of snow and ignorant masses who are moronic at the best of times.

What this city needs to do is ban cyclists. A human powered cyclist struck me and put me in this living hell I am in now because she failed to stop at a RED light. Not a car but a pathetic toy powered contraption operated by a more pathetic ignorant person who sounds like the vast majority of stuck up BlogTO infants.

I would start with banning the majority of ignorant people who can not understand how it is someone such as myself has to endure the hell that is daily life.

Shame on all of you. Grow up and understand there are reasons for things to be the way they are in this world. From where I see it 99% of the problems are from all of you complaining but not doing anything about it. Until you do something follow my advise and SHUT UP or move away. Move to Vancooooover or Sad Francisco or Europeeee or whatever crappy place you always complain is better then here. Why wait move today. Why live with Ford's rule, leave now and today. don't look back we wont' miss you one bit.

You would be correct that there hasn't been that many blocked streetcars this way, I ride up the street & idiots block the bump outs way too often, they just luck out by doing it before a streetcar comes along. Then there is the ignorance of passengers who think the bump outs are extensions of the sidewalk so they can just stand there oblivious to cyclists, that's another rant.

holy cow, dude, bitter much? i shoveled my walk 6 times on friday, and once on saturday, and i own a car. not to mention the laws states the walk must be shoveled within 24 hours of the cessation of snowfall, because, you know, some people went to work and didn't get home in time to shovel just for you.

Hamilton declared a snow emergency on Friday and it was lifted on Sunday. To declare a snow emergency would have cost money, something Rob Ford will not do, so no snow emergency.

Meanwhile, Rob took phone call on his home phone regarding problems with snow. Something that 311 should be handling. Is Rob Ford an overpaid call centre operator or the mayor. As a mayor, he should have been looking at the big picture and declared a snow emergency.

Instead, he handled individual problems that should have been handled by the 311 operators. But then Rob wants to cut city hall staff (which could include the 311 operators) by ANOTHER 10%.

Maybe next, he'll outsource the city hall jobs to China, to save money. Forget the jobs in Toronto, but that's seems to be fine.

It took 30 minutes for someone to answer my 311 call on Friday. Seems like a staff shortage to me.

Street parking has become far too easy to obtain in the core, on and off major streets. These streets and neighbourhoods weren't designed with cars in mind, and we lose so much space and mobility because of them. I seriously wonder why businesses and residents who can't exist without their cars would even begin to think about setting up shop downtown, short of their selfish desire for a 'funky downtown address'.

And those against streetcars: they hold more people, thereby requiring fewer drivers and less labour cost (streetcars move more people per day than GO), they are relatively immune to ice and snow because of their 30 tons of metal, replacing them with electric buses would require a complete redesign of the system (the overhead wires are incompatible, buses don't have rails to act as ground, and therefore require a ground collector overhead, plus buses can't make some of the tighter turns on the streetcar network), streetcars have a smoother ride for passengers, streetcars allow riders to see the environment which stimulates the local street economy (Sonic Boom gets more traffic now that Bathurst streetcar riders go past it), I could go on and on...

What I learned from reading these comments:
- Montreal is so awesome
- The city of Toronto is run by idiots
- Streetcars are evil
- Anyone with a car should be able to park anywhere they want
- Electric busses are the solution to everything

Maybe someone should just work on teaching motorists how to respect others they share the roads with. Seems simple enough.

Based on my travels across Europe over the summer, subways (or underground transit) through the core instead of streetcars makes a heck of a lot more sense than streetcars. It allows for both cars and transit riders not to be at each others' throats and for everyone to be moving (well... except in rush hour when cars are essentially "parked" anyways). At this point as well, there are enough people taking transit for it to be viable to move underground.

Now, if people don't want underground transit, then I think cars should be towed if they are not parked properly, regardless of the weather. If there's a lot of snow, that's not an excuse for blocking traffic, TTC or otherwise. Either drive and find a parking spot that works, regardless of how long it takes to find that spot that doesn't impede traffic and that may be further than you want for where you're going, or just take transit so you don't have to deal with it. It should be treated the same way, regardless of the weather... and drivers should have enough common sense not to park where they're blocking traffic.

I was surprised how silly some drivers were parking. Even on Sunday driving down Spadina I saw more than one car parked half in a spot with their back end blocking part of the lane. Turning Spadina into one lane in parts.

At Queen & Woodbine Saturday morning, there were cars parked on Queen which had obviously been there all night, judging from the amount of snow on their roofs.

Right behind the condo buildings between Woodbine and Kingston Road, there are no fewer than FOUR Green P lots which cost about the same as the street parking (it's all metred along there). I know for a fact none of those lots were full.

Talk about buses vs. streetcars all you want, but it doesn't change the fact there are an awful lot of idiot drivers around TO.

It works, unfortunately the city, the way it was designed, the way it is designed does not make it street car friendly. Poor city planning. The road is full of clutter, bikes, cars, buses, street cars, motorcycles, no bike lanes, poor infrastructure. It does not accommodate 5 million plus people, and those commuting to the city to and from work, doesn't work. They built/rebuilt a streetcar line on St Clair street that was supposed to encourage streetcar/ttc use, instead it caused more traffic(genius). You can't encourage and promote more use if no one backs you ( proper budget, proper ttc service etc etc.) Remember folks the only reason why Toronto expanded to this size was because Montreal( Canada's former largest city) Wanted to stay French, thus driving those people to Toronto, explaining why everything in Toronto is American. I guess they never really envisioned this did they? Just thought, hey, lets make a buck, tear down everything, and let the American businesses in....No further comment.

Here's an idea. Paint a line on the road that marks where the outer edge of the street car will be. Then drivers will have a good idea if they are breaking the law or not. I reckon a lot of them guesstimate, but end up making bad judgement calls, or have bad eyes.

Agree that transit infrastructure is a joke here. At least 30 years behind.

But I disagree that drivers race their routes to avoid picking up riders. Been on the Chinatown streetcar lately? Drivers have no qualms delaying 60+ riders so a couple losers with grocery pullcarts can scurry to catch the streetcar, rather than be forced to wait a few minutes for the next one.

We need huge fines for blocking any transit vehicle. Make it $5000, that'll get people's attention. And if you think that's too high, the economic damage caused by preventing thousands of people from getting where they need to go is surely a lot higher.

I pay taxes just like everyone else. I bust my ass so i can afford to pay the crazy amounts of tax i have to pay just so I can have a car in this city. I pay for e-tests, I pay for plate renewals, I pay for street parking, I pay for public parking, heck I even pay for a private lot parking. ALL OF THAT MONEY GOES TO THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. So excuse me if I don't give a flying fuck if you morons can't get to work because they don't use the thousands of dollars i give them every year FOR THE PURPOSE OF YOUR (non car owning) CONVENIENCE properly.

@wheel chair: you should sue the City for failure to provide access to all downtown sidewalks after a reasonable period after a snowfall (as happens in the 'burbs, incidentally). You know, it worked for blind lawyer David Lepofsky, whose lawsuit against the TTC for not properly announcing stops on subways and busses led to the digital signs and announcements that all transit users now benefit from. Apparently it would cost the City just $7 per family per year to clean snow from all downtown sidewalks (according to a Maclean's piece from a 17 March 2011). It's an accessibility issue, and everyone would benefit. You know, the threat of a lawsuit by the plastic bag industry was enough to cause the City to wet its pants and drop its proposed ban, so maybe if you threatened to sue that would be enough. You'd become the hero of strolling-pushing parents as a bonus!

@Trev, you're wrong. The taxes you pay for the privilege of driving cover just one-third to one-half of the cost of providing the infrastructure for you to do so. Google "John Moore National Post The conservative case for toll roads" (Feb 5, 2013). TTC users in Toronto pay 80% of their own cost.

As with Downtown Guy, again, no. That's just getting rid of street rail so that you and every entitled driver can do what they please with their cars. You need to learn that the car (and the bus) isn't EVERYTHING in Toronto or any other city.

Can someone give me a good argument as to why we have streetcars in the first place? I'm all for reducing pollution but... They're slow, and expensive to maintain. When they breakdown, they block all traffic, making it take forever to get it towed.

How about dedicating certain streets for rail systems (meaning no parking as well) and other streets only motorized vehicles... then the two shall never meet?

*Sigh* there's no simple solution that will make everyone happy. Toronto is every commuter/traveler's nightmare.

I think there should be special measures implemented by the City that you cannot park on a major street i.e. where streetcars travel after a snowstorm until the City declares it safe to do so. Regarding one reader's suggestion not to park cars on side streets at night, unfortunately, street permit parking is the only option for many of us living downtown.

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